September 27, 2011 -- The first time John Rechenberg of Bristol ever purchased a “Lucky-4-Life” ticket was for the September 22, 2011 drawing. Call it “beginner’s luck,” but Rechenberg, a machinist at Pratt & Whitney, had the extraordinary good fortune of winning $10,000 on that very ticket. “I don’t know why I bought the ticket; I usually buy Classic Lotto and Powerball,” Rechenberg told CT Lottery officials.

The winning Lucky-4-Life numbers for September 22 were 3 - 6 - 16 - 29. Rechenberg’s “Quick Pick” matched those four numbers, but not the Lucky Ball number, which was 38. A total of 7,511 winning Lucky-4-Life tickets were sold on that date.

After Rechenberg discovered his $10,000 prize winning combination in the morning newspaper, he immediately brought his ticket to a lottery retailer to be validated. “I was excited about it. I’ve never won this much,” said Rechenberg who accepted a prize check for $6,830 (value after taxes) from Lottery officials. It was certainly a day of celebration for Rechenberg; his next stop after the Lottery was the hospital—to welcome the birth of his newest grandchild.

Rechenberg’s winning Lucky-4-Life ticket was purchased at Avenue News located at 821 Farmington Avenue in Bristol.